Tuesday, April 28, 2009

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

In his first varsity start, Ramapo junior Andrew Bauer threw a complete game and gave up just five hits and no walks in a 14-3 win over Ramsey, which was unbeaten coming into the game.

RAMSEY -- In the middle of a stretch of the season where it will play six games in seven days, pitching depth is an issue for Ramapo as it is for just about every other team dealing with the fall out from a slew of early season rainouts. The audition period is brief and three batters in a game against Pascack Hills was all junior Andrew Bauer needed to earn his first varsity start. His reward came on Monday on the road against Ramsey, a team that came without a loss through the first three-plus weeks of the season.

“Andrew came in against Pascack Hills with nobody out and the bases loaded and he struck three straight guys out to get is out of it and he was lights out after that in that game,” said Ramapo head coach Mickey Hunt. “He gave us a boost and he gave us another one here today, that is for sure.”

If there was a question of whether or not Bauer could work his way through a solid lineup on the varsity level two or three times, it has been answered and the new question is what Bauer could possibly do for an encore. The boost he provided came in the form of a complete game five-hitter in which he did not walk a batter and did not allow and earned run in the six innings that it took for the Green Raiders to post a 14-3 win at John Ponchak Field.

Ramsey's Casey Ruel making contact with his first inning single.

“Coach [Hunt] told me that I was going to get the start and I knew that they were undefeated, so I was a little nervous coming in here,” said Bauer, whose first start was his third appearance of the season. “But it was a lot easier when the offense came out and did what they did in the first inning.”

What the Ramapo offense did in the first inning was give Bauer a five-run cushion to work with before he even took the hill. The first pitch of the game plunked RJ Voorman in the left elbow and Ramapo was off and running. A ground out by Rob Santaniello moved Voorman into scoring position, a walk to Kevin O’Connor put two runners on base and Sean Munier, Ramapo’s cleanup hitter, hit a towering triple that knocked in two runs.

“I got a strike on me on the first pitch, but the next one was right there and I gave it a good swing,” said Munier, whose shot short-hopped the centerfield fence 375 feet from home plate. “I was good to get Andrew Bauer some early runs because Ramsey is a good team, they came in here undefeated, and getting the lead right away gave us all a lot of confidence.”

Bob Graber followed Munier with an RBI single, Tom Breault walked and Marc Solicito painted the right field line with Ramapo’s second two-run triple of the opening inning. Seven batters into the game, Ramapo had a 5-0 lead.

Sean Munier first inning, two-run triple got Ramapo off and running.

Ramsey set about getting back in the game in the bottom of the first inning by simply putting the ball in play. Casey Ruel led off with a single and an error on a potential double play ball put runners at first and second. Another fielder’s choice pushed Ruel to third as Marcus Gatone switched places with John Capuano at first base and they both scored when Rob Archetti doubled down the rightfield line to draw the Rams to within 5-2. But when Archetti tried to stretch the double into a triple, the relay throw was in time to Munier at third base and it was all Ramapo after that.

Munier was hit by a pitch leading off the third inning before Bob Graber was robbed of at least a basehit when Ruel snatched his sinking linedrive to left field just before it hit the grass with a full dive moving forward. Munier then got into scoring position by himself with a stolen base and Breault picked him up with single and then created his own run. Breault stole second, went to third on a balk and scored on a wild pitch as Ramapo went up 7-2 after three innings.

Ramsey's Rob Archetti leaving the box after his two run double with two outs in the first inning.

Santaniello had a run-scoring double in the top of the fourth and Munier (2-for-3, 4 RBI, 2 R) picked up two more RBI with a fourth inning with a single. Kevin O’Connor’s two-run double in the top of the fifth put Ramapo up 12-2 and in position to end the game after, but Capuano’s RBI single in the bottom of the frame gave Ramsey an unearned run and one more inning.

All three of Ramsey’s run were unearned as Bauer cruised through his final five innings of work. After giving up two hits in the opening inning, Bauer gave up just three more hits, all singles. Even when the Rams hit the ball hard, it was evident that it was Bauer’s day.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the fourth, Vince Fiori hit a stinging line drive that was ticketed for centerfield, but Bauer gloved it and threw to first for an inning ending double play. Ramsey also had two on and one out in the fifth, but this time Mike Gwan was robbed of a line single when Bauer got his glove up and again turned it into an inning ending 1-3 double play.

And after Breault hit his fourth home run of the season, a bomb into the trees above the left field fence with two outs and a runner on in the top of the sixth, Bauer retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to close out his first varsity win.

Ramapo's Tom Breault hit his fourth home run of the season on this swing in the top of the sixth.

“The plan was just to throw strikes and use my curveball when I needed it,” said Bauer. “This was a good game for me and I am hoping that it gets me a few more starts.”

Breault finished with three hits 3 RBI and three runs scored, Graber had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored, O’Connor walked twice scored twice, stole a base and drove in two runs and Greg Madormo had two hits, stole a base and scored twice. Archetti had two of Ramsey’s five hits and Nick Charamis had an infield single in the bottom of the fifth for Ramsey, which fell to 12-1 on the season while Ramapo improved to 9-3.

“We have Bergen Catholic [on Tuesday] and then we have Northern Highlands, who has been playing very well on Wednesday and Wayne Hills on Friday. It never lets up when you play in the NBIL,” said Hunt, who will send Santaniello to the hill against BC. “This is a good win, a good victory against a very good team and we’ll bet right back at it. This is what baseball is all about; you play every day and stay consistent.”

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